Facet Joint Debridement

This procedure involves a small incision of around 1/2 of an inch and a small tube is inserted to the facet joint. Utilizing electrocautery, the synovial capsule and surounding tissues are removed. This eliminates the receptor site for the nerve that innervates the joint and thus makes the joint permanently "numb". The end result is similar to waht is currently being done with radiofrequency procedure except this is a permanent solution to the spinal arthritis pain and according to studies offers a 80% succes rate which means that 80% of the patients will have significant relief for years. The procedure takes around an hour and is done on an outpatient basis. Recovery is over a week but the arthritis pain is resolved immediately. A company called Medovex has designed a device called DeNervex to perform this procedure. You can find our paper on this procedure below.